Tell me why must a man be of serviceTo his lord and the gods seldom highFrom the grave sprang the name of our fathersBut there's no glint in a dead man's eyeTell me why our fields filled with hungerAnd fruitless the crop bittered soilSo I say my farewell to a nationAs the leaf waves goodbye to its sun

So it's to youth I sing you this storyAnd it's of youth I sing it nowLike the train that derailed without warningI must leave what I left far behindSo goodbye sweet Roisin DubhI say goodbye

Tell me why must our peace be this puzzleThat fractures the land splinters warThe last nail sank the shame on our coffinBut in the end we must all die alone

So it's to youth I sing you this storyAnd it's of youth I sing it nowLike the train that derailed without warningSome must leave what they left far behindSo goodbye sweet Roisin DubhI say goodbye

And the bark fell from treeTo the ground that now bleedsOn the anguish that never learnt to shoutWhen the clash of the drum will surrender the gunAnd of this sadness we shall no longer speak

Until tank and the bomb are but all forgotten songsThat's when I and we will sing againSo goodbye to my loveMy sweet Roisin DubhGoodbye now until we meet again

Tell me why must our grief still be grievingFor a language that never spoke it's lossBut this tongue spit with fire will tear down the barbwireAnd rip the belly from the waxy ghost

So it's to youth I sing you this storyAnd it's of youth I sing it nowLike the train that derailed without warningWe must leave what we left far behindSo goodbye sweet Roisin DubhI say goodbye

Until we meet againShe'll rise to beautifyBut slumber now must restO' my Roisin Dubh I'll forever loveThe youth you once possessed